Are you fond of collecting sports cards and thrilled with physical collectables you can touch, rearrange, and exhibit? In that case, you probably won’t fancy NFT sports cards. But if you don’t mind possessing a virtual form of a rare item, get ready to jump on the NFT bandwagon.
The interest in these digital assets is exploding globally, with more and more avid collectors trying to get hold of unique pieces. But what is the technology behind virtual sports memorabilia, and why are they so valuable? The combo of blockchain and state-of-the-art tokens makes sports NFTs ideal for collecting and trading.
As a result, the most prominent sports leagues have realized the potential of non-fungibles and accepted the challenge. Recently, millions of dollars worth of sports memorabilia have been sold as NFTs. So, if you’re curious to find out more about NFT sports cards and wondering where to invest, check this beginner’s guide.
What Is An NFT Sports Card?
An NFT sports card is a one-of-a-kind digital image authors create online and sell for fiat and cryptocurrencies. Once you buy the card, your ownership gets recorded in the blockchain. Since the most wanted sports cards represent a unique image that nobody else can have, that’s what NFTs offer.
However, non-fungible tokens leave significant room for expansion. You may wonder how. In short, the digital format of the NFT trading cards allows them to incorporate videos and moving images. Thus, besides owning a card with your favourite player, you can also possess Moments. These are short video clips replaying memorable highlights from sports history.
How much an NFT card is worth depends on its rarity and fan feeling. As with standard cards, whether a card’s value will increase or decrease is subject to the current market conditions and the interests of collectors.
The earliest examples of trading NFTs were Cryptokitties and Cryptopunks. The rarity of these digital collectables came with small details that differentiated each image. Later, the NFT marketplace expanded and now offers digital assets and artworks of all kinds.
What Are The Different Types Of NFT Sports Cards On The Market?
Besides famous athletes launching headline-making NFTs collections, other sports NFT brands have emerged at the forefront. Popular companies have also taken the lion’s share of the sports NFT market. Here are the top NFT sports cards you can trade today.
Sorare
Sorare is a pioneering fantasy football game that enables players to trade, buy, and sell collectable NFT cards. Sorare members can create teams of five players and thus act as football managers. Each football player is represented by a virtual card on the Ethereum blockchain.
Since cards stand for real-life football players, their performance on the pitch and your participation in tournaments will impact your Sorare score. The available cards you can buy include common, rare, super-rare, limited, and unique. In 2021, the total sale of Sorare virtual cards went over $150 million.
NBA Topshot
Powered by Dapper Labs, NBA Topshot operates as a trading card platform on the FLOW blockchain. Moreover, the NBA Players Association officially licenses digital NFT sports cards in the form of highlighted clips from NBA games.
NBA Topshot NFTs feature short videos of exceptional slam dunks, unusual three-pointers, and other exciting moments. Plus, you can use crypto and fiat currencies to purchase NBA digital memorabilia. In 2021, NBA Topshot generated over $826 million in trading volume.
UFC Strike
UFC Strike is another notable partnership that unites fans and trading cards. Also created by Dapper Labs and licenced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC Strike allows members to collect NFT sports cards representing famous fighters. These NFTs get minted on the FLOW blockchain. In March this year, the platform reported a market capitalization of $7.9 million.
Where To Get Yours?
The number of markets you can trade NFT memorabilia is experiencing a boom. However, some are more reliable and offer higher value for your buck. Let’s look at the most promising NFT marketplaces for sports-related non-fungible tokens.
OpenSea
Arguably, OpenSea is a leading peer-to-peer NFT marketplace for non-fungible tokens of various kinds. Members from all corners can mint, buy, and sell NFTs ranging from sports cards and digital art to music and crypto collectables. To trade, you need a digital wallet linked with your account. The default cryptocurrency of OpenSea is Ethereum.
Singularifty
Another trustworthy platform to get your NFT sports cards is Singularifty. As a high-end marketplace, Singularifty is selective with NFT submissions to ensure investors get exceptional quality. On the platform, users store and manage account keys and various NFT assets.
In addition, members can pay with crypto or fiat currencies. Once registered and verified, investors might purchase high-yielding tokens from sports giants and clubs.
Rarible
Rarible is another leader in the NFT marketplaces for minting, selling, and buying various non-fungible tokens. This community-centric NFT platform sells tokens representing profile pictures, domains, art, and music. You can also purchase non-fungibles from several leading sports NFT brands. Besides Ethereum-based assets, Rarible supports NFTs operating on Tezos, Flow, and Polygon.
Are NFTs The Future Of Collectibles?
If you’re a fan of sports memorabilia, investing in NFT sports cards can be a great experience. Since digital assets are a booming marketplace, the future of virtual collectables seems bright. And while no guarantees with NFTs exist, the same goes for standard sports cards. The value of trading assets depends on the mercy of fans and the marketplace.
Conversely, digital memorabilia and images can suffer no damage. The market is reasonably young, and if you invest now, you may grab assets that will yield high profits in the future.
So, what should you expect from sports memorabilia? While it’s impossible to claim with certainty, the trend will probably keep up in the following years. Sports trading cards get traded and transferred quickly on the digital market, thus boosting the market’s prospects. Overall, NFTs and sports are a perfect match due to the limited supply and the growing community backing the collections.